Joanna says No!

Oscar nominated and internationally acclaimed animator, Joanna Quinn, creator of Beryl in the award-winning film Girls' Night Out, has added her voice to the campaign to save Cardiff's Bute Park from  the council plans to over develop it.

The council proposes to build a £1.4m access bridge and elevated highways into the Grade 1 listed parkland, in the view of many, despoiling one of the loveliest corners of Cardiff's prized green spaces in order to facilitate large articulated lorries entering the park to service commercial events.

“I've seen details of the plans, and what the council proposes is pretty appalling,” she asserts. “Despite a large and growing amount of public opposition, the council has continued to push these plans forward  without undertaking proper comprehensive and open public consultation at the offset.”

They've given themselves the go ahead  to build a huge, quite ugly bridge into the park, for  articulated trucks to enter the park, and they've already taken out some beautiful mature trees to this end and created an ugly treeless scar where the bridge will enter the park.”

“In my  drawing, Beryl, the  leading character from my films is threatened by a juggernaut driven by Councillor Nigel Howells, one of the arch proponents of this depressingly ill- conceived venture.”

“The drawing represents, I think, how many people, who love the uniqueness of the park, feel - that they are being railroaded and  bullied  by an ecologically insensitive and short sighted council which has entirely lost touch with the  very people it is supposed to represent and serve.”

Joanna Quinn and producer/writer Les Mills run an animation production company from their studios in central Cardiff.

In addition to the renowned Beryl series of animated films, they've produced a range of commissions for S4C, Channel 4  and the BBC. including “Famous Fred” and the Wife of Bath, an adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which won many international awards  including 2 Academy nominations, BAFTAs and Emmys.

Their last  Beryl film “Dreams & Desires - Family Ties” won over 45 major international awards.

Joanna is hoping that Beryl's raucous and ebulliant presence will draw attention to the danger Bute Park faces from the council’s insensitive development plans.

“The Castle grounds and Bute Park are unique and we are incredibly lucky to have  this wonderful swathe of unspoilt green space right in the middle of our  capital city. How can the council contemplate destructive developments of this kind in  a space internationally acknowledged as being one of the finest  and greenest inner city spaces in Europe?” she asks.

“It's not only this part of the park which is threatened, there are plans to further encroach into Sophia Gardens and the area around the new cricket stadium by constructing  yet more new car parks and destroying  precious sport facilities like tennis courts and the 5-a side football ground.”

Joanna and Beryl have  joined forces with  a campaign group, the Bute Parks Alliance, formed to oppose the council's controversial development plans.

Press information about the BPA call: Nerys Lloyd-Pierce on 02920 343 121/07701 007 128, email nerys@lloyd-pierce.co.uk.